Professional Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback)

by Kyle Johns (Author), Trevor Taylor (Author)
Key Phrases: robotics hardware, differential drive, simulation editor, Microsoft Robotics Studio, Visual Studio, Robotics Developer Studio Fundamentals (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Wrox's Professional Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio is one of the first guides to Microsoft's new platform for visualizing and programming robotics applications. Written by the founding architect of the product, Professional Microsoft Robotics Studio is heavy on examples making this a hands-on guide that will get readers building robotics applications quickly using 3 case-study robots: an indoor security robot, winning Magellan competitor and a chess-playing robotic arm.

Topics include:

• Common Concurrency Runtime
• Sending and Receiving Messages
• Building and Accessing Services
• Using a browser and the Internet as the UI for a robot
• Using supported hardware and integrating new hardware
• Simulating the real world for robotic interactions
• Extending the simulation environment
• Deploying to hardware
• Using the Visual Programming Language
• and more.

Source code and online support at Wrox.com.

From the Back Cover
Professional Microsoft RoboticsDeveloper Studio

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (MRDS) offers an exciting new wayto program robots in the Windows environment. With key portions of theMRDS code available in source form, it is readily extensible and offersnumerous opportunities for programmers and hobbyists. This comprehensivebook illustrates creative ways to use the tools and libraries in MRDS so you can start building innovative new robotics applications.

The book begins with a brief overview of MRDS and then launches into MRDSconcepts and takes a look at fundamental code patterns that can be used in MRDS programming. You'll work through examples—all in C#—of common tasks, including an examination of the physics features of the MRDS simulator. As the chapters progress, so does the level of difficulty and you'll gradually evolve from navigating a simple robot around a simulated course to controlling simulated and actual robotic arms, and finally, to an autonomous robot that runs with an embedded PC or PDA.

What you will learn from this book

• How to program in the multi-threaded environment provided by the concurrency and coordination runtime

• Suggestions for starting and stopping services, configuring services, and packaging your services for deployment

• Techniques for building new services from scratch and then testing them

• How to build your own simulated environments and robots using the Visual Simulation Environment

• What robots are supported under MRDS and how to select one for purchase

Who this book is for
This book is for programmers who are interested in becoming proficient in the rapidly growing field of robotics. All examples featured in the book are in C#, which is the preferred language for MRDS.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 826 pages
• Publisher: Wrox (May 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470141077
• ISBN-13: 978-0470141076
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #415,833 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want deep knowledge, this is the book., December 5, 2008

By	Philip Wheat (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is not an intro book, but is the book you want if you want in depth knowledge. Very good book, but you'll likely use it as a reference rather than a tutorial as the topics are pretty targeted.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough but not easy material to get through, October 25, 2008

By	Daniel Sionov (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have not yet completed reading this book though I have read the first few chapters.

My first impression is that although this book is fairly thorough and comprehensive, it's not the easiest material to get through.

The authors start with the CCR (Concurrency and Coordination Run-Time) and discuss it in such a way that it has nothing to do with robotics. Obviously, it makes sense as to why you would have a specialized set of components to handle concurrency, etc., but it helps to know how it fits in the big picture of robotics programming.

Anyway, I don't regret having purchased this book, but I wish it was laid out more in the context of robotics rather than just the individual components of the Microsoft Robotics Studio.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book for the job, July 7, 2008

By	Quintin Balsdon (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Of the two textbooks available, Professional MRDS is an excellent reference book for those who need guidance with MRDS. The textbook has a plethora of examples that are easy to grasp and has an excellent code library (available from the website at no cost). In addition, the hands-on attitude of the authors make MRDS a pleasurable experience.